The present invention relates to improvements in a modular ramp system. Ramp components of a variety of kinds are well known in the prior art for use by skateboarders. Angled ramps, radiused ramps, tables, quarterpipes, halfpipes, rails and other components are generally well known for use by skateboarders riding skateboards who enjoy skating on such devices for recreation as well as for competition. Applicant is the patentee of U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,756 that issued Sep. 7, 1999, and was later reissued as Reissue U.S. Pat. No. RE 38,326 on Sep. 25, 2003. Applicant's prior patent and reissue patent disclose a molded plastic ramp made in a one step molding process and including a smooth radiused ramp surface. The invention disclosed in Applicant's prior patent and reissue patent was successfully commercialized and remains one of the most popular ramps in the marketplace today. Its combination of portability, high strength, radiused ramp surface, and easy access to the ramp surface via its forward edge have combined together to create an extremely popular product.
However, although Applicant's commercialized and patented ramp is a popular product, it is a product that may only effectively be used by itself because it was never designed to interface with other kinds of skateboarding surfaces that have evolved over the years.
As skateboarding has become more and more popular over the past several decades, both as a recreational sport and as a sport where amateurs and professionals compete for prizes including money, numerous municipalities have concluded that it is appropriate to provide skateboarding parks within their borders. As such, skateboarding parks have sprung up all over the United States, generally consisting of permanent fixtures such as poured concrete bowls, quarterpipes and halfpipes as well as permanently installed wooden and metal structures providing numerous varieties of jumps, curves, tracks, surfaces, and other features attractive to skateboarders. Not every municipality, however, has the financial means or the land area to provide skate parks for their citizens. Thus, it is has become advantageous to create modular components combinable together in a variety of orientations and that may easily be assembled for use and disassembled for storage and even transport. Such modular systems are also attractive to private citizens who may, for example, have a driveway where such components may be assembled, but who require the ability to disassemble and store those components when the driveway is to be used, for example, by vehicles or for other uses such as a basketball court or volleyball court.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,801 to Marko et al. discloses a modular ramp system that includes a series of components that may be assembled together in a variety of ways to create different features. The Marko et al. system contemplates a variety of ramps including extensions and tables that may be assembled together. These components are assembled together using T-shaped female slots and T-shaped male projections that interface with one another to allow strong assembly together as well as ease of disassembly for storage. While Marko et al. generally teach the concept of a modular system of components that may be assembled together in a variety of configurations, the types of components contemplated by Marko et al. are limited as compared to the teachings of the present invention.
Additionally, a variety of individual components used by skateboarders are known in and of themselves. However, Applicant is unaware of any prior art teaching combining together a variety of skateboarding components in the unique ways contemplated herein. The following additional prior art is known to Applicant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,534 to Beck et al. discloses a wiggle track section designed for use with railroad cars. Beck et al. fail to teach or suggest the use of curved and other non-straight track sections used for a rail system for skateboarding.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,310 to Farnen discloses modular halfpipe skateboard ramp and method of constructing. Farnen teaches a plurality of components designed to be assembled together using fasteners to create a halfpipe. Farnen fails to teach or suggest the concept of a plurality of modular skateboard components of differing types that may be assembled together in a variety of ways.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,480 to Labelson discloses an amusement ramp and method of constructing it. Labelson contemplates two back-to-back ramps assembled together. However, Labelson fails to teach or suggest the specific manner of interconnection of back-to-back ramps contemplated by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,979 to Johannes teaches an inline skating sports floor including a plurality of sections assembled together using hooks and loops. Johannes fails to teach or suggest the modular ramp system of the present invention including the particular manner of interconnection of various components contemplated herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,221 to Bork et al. discloses a grind rail system that may be assembled and disassembled. In Bork et al., the various components are assembled together using aligned holes and pins. By contrast, the present invention contemplates the use of dovetail recesses and projections. Moreover, Bork et al. teach supports that include circular cross-section ground engaging portions. However, there is no teaching or suggestion by Bork et al. that the support legs are intended to accommodate sloped support of a grind rail.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,192 to Rieber et al. discloses an obstacle assembly for bikes, skateboards, and rollerblades including the proviso of interconnecting a plurality of diverse components together. Among those components are ramps and grind rails. With particular attention to the grind rails, they include circular cross-section feet, however, the feet are attached to legs fixedly mounted under the grind rails without any stated intention to accommodate to supporting a grind rail in a sloped configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,367 to Labelson et al. is similar to Labelson '480 and discloses a ramp consisting of back-to-back radiused ramps interconnected together. Labelson et al. also teach a halfpipe configuration. Labelson et al. also teach the use of hand rails assembled to a ramp system. The present invention differs from the teachings of Labelson et al. in many respects including the manner of interconnection of diverse modular components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,968 to Montolio teaches a modular skate park system in which a variety of ramps and tables may be assembled together. Montolio fails to teach or suggest the variety of modular components contemplated by the present invention nor their manners of interconnection.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,529 to Pernal discloses an amusement ramp system in which a ramp may be associated with a table at its upper end and in which a plurality of ramps and tables may be laterally connected. Pernal also contemplates a plurality of components that may be combined together to form a halfpipe. The present invention differs from the teachings of Pernal as contemplating a multiplicity of modular components that may be assembled together in manners not taught or suggested by Pernal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,577 to Rieber et al. discloses a knock-down quarterpipe for skateboarders, bikers and in-line skaters. The Rieber et al. device includes a support frame to which ramp sections may be assembled. However, Rieber et al. fail to teach or suggest the multiplicity of modular components combined together as disclosed herein nor their respective manners of interconnection.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,048,634 to Fernandez et al. discloses a skateboard rail that includes dovetail connections to allow adjacent rails to be interconnected. Fernandez et al. also teach a table having integral coping on its sides. However, Fernandez et al. fail to teach or suggest the multiplicity of modular components contemplated in the present invention nor their respective manners of interconnection.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,895 to Hickey discloses an extreme sports ramp system including a frame with support legs and ramp sections assembled thereto. Hickey fails to teach or suggest the modular components of the present invention nor their respective manners of interconnection.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,562 to Soderberg discloses a knockdown skateboard park system. Soderberg contemplates a plurality of components including a ramp, table and hand rail that may be assembled together. Additional features include the ability to combine a plurality of ramps with at least one table. The manner of interconnection contemplated includes the use of specific clips. The present invention differs from Soderberg as contemplating a multiplicity of modular components that may be assembled together in ways not taught or suggested by Soderberg.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,443 to Martinez et al. discloses a portable interlocking skate rail assembly that includes a plurality of rail components that may be coupled together. The coupling system contemplates square cross-section female portions into which square cross-section male portions are inserted. The present invention differs from the teachings of Martinez et al. in numerous respects including as contemplating a plurality of rail sections including those permitting curves in a length of rail.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2002/0050589 A1 to Nestel discloses a portable grind rail assembly in which a plurality of grind rail sections are assembled together using connecting pipes having outer diameters corresponding to the inner diameters of rail sections and pushbutton coupling members designed to be pushed in, slid into the rail sections, and then popped out at holes provided in the rail sections. The present invention differs from the teachings of Nestel as contemplating numerous different types of rail sections nowhere taught or suggested by Nestel.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2002/0093165 A1 to Greene discloses a human powered skateboard roller coaster. The Greene invention shows a plurality of rails including curved sections and sections that extend upwardly and downwardly. The present invention differs from the teachings of Greene as contemplating incorporating grind rails as a portion of a modular skateboard system.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2003/0196308 A1 to Kelsey discloses a grind rail and transport kit in which a variety of rail sections are coupled together. Kelsey fails to teach or suggest the modular system of the present invention.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2005/0075177 A1 to Bork et al. discloses a ramp system in which back-to-back ramps are held in angled relationship to one another by an interconnecting arm. The present invention contemplates a distinctly different mechanism for interconnecting back-to-back ramps.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2005/0107170 A1 to Wang discloses a skateboard ramp system in which a plurality of ramp sections may be assembled together to create a lengthier ramp. Wang contemplates the use of swallow-tailed grooves and swallow-tailed tongues to interconnect the differing ramp sections. The present invention differs from the teachings of Wang as contemplating a plurality of different modular skateboarding components that may be assembled together in a variety of configurations.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2005/0124425 A1 to Talafous discloses a skate training system including a ramp made up of several sections mounted together. The present invention differs from the teachings of Talafous as not being limited merely to skateboard ramps.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. US 2007/0015594 A1 to Laurienzo et al. discloses a stunt ramp for a wheeled toy device which consists of two back-to-back radiused ramps interconnected together in an integral housing. The present invention differs from the teachings of Laurienzo et al. as contemplating two separate constructed radiused ramps that are assembled together back-to-back through the use of a spine connector.
As more of an overview, the present invention distinguishes from the teachings of all of the prior art known to Applicant as identified and discussed above because the present invention contemplates combinations of elements and structures nowhere taught or suggested in any of the prior art references whether taken alone or in any combinations that could reasonably be considered to be evidence of obviousness under the Patent Statutes. Those combinations of elements include, as described in greater detail below, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The use of radiused ramps laterally connected together with the respective ramps achieving differing heights.
(2) Use of a table having an integrally molded coping bump with the table utilized in combination with a launch ramp or quarterpipe.
(3) Modular ramp components allowing conversion of a launch ramp into a quarterpipe.
(4) Use of a grind rail including straight and curved sections, either alone or in combination with a skateable table.
(5) A unique connection system facilitating assembly of two ramps back-to-back while permitting lateral interconnection of similar combinations or two sets of back-to-back ramps of differing heights.
(6) Legs used to support grind rails and tables that include arcuate ground engaging surfaces allowing stable support on both flat and inclined ground surfaces.